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Mayor Rachel Richards was sworn in for a two-year term and council members John Doyle and Christine Benedetti were sworn in for four-year terms. Richards was elected mayor on March 4, and Doyle and Benedetti were elected in a runoff election on April 1 among four council candidates.
It was the first time a new mayor led the city council in six years and the first time since 2023 that Richards sat at the council table.
“This is a really exciting opportunity for me, a little intimidating because there is so much on our plate and we are in a time of changing circumstances in terms of the federal support for, whether it’s our communities seniors or whether it’s the environment or it’s our forest serve and public lands officials,” Richards said. “So we are all going to have to keep our ears to the ground and see what’s coming down the pike, and be able to speak supportively about the needs of the community and the protection for the community.
“I know it’s not easy, I know there’s been a lot of challenging issues, and there always are, but I think we can really come together as a good team to do that,” she added.
Doyle was reelected to a second term on council after first being elected in 2021. It is Benedetti’s first time serving as an elected official.
Richards, Doyle and Benedetti joined councilmen Sam Rose and Bill Guth at the council table, replacing former mayor Torre and former councilman Ward Hauenstein, who both finished serving their final terms in their respective positions.
“I’m hoping we can all work together cohesively for the betterment of our community,” Doyle said.
Rose and Guth congratulated the newly elected council members and celebrated the opportunity to start work with a new city council makeup.
“(I’m) looking for less drama and more productivity in the next two years, and I know we can accomplish it,” Rose said. “I’m very excited for the future.”
During the meeting Tuesday, the new city council appointed its members to board and commissions. After each election cycle, the newly sat council chooses who will represent the council and the city’s interests on several boards and commissions in the valley, including the Aspen Pitkin County Housing Authority board and the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority board.
It was a moment of contention in 2023 when the previous city council was sworn in after Guth at the time opted not to sit on any boards or commissions and Rose chose only to sit on one board.
On Tuesday, Richards nominated herself as the voting member of the RFTA board and initially nominated Doyle as the alternate, non-voting member. But Guth argued he should sit on the board as the voting member, especially because he campaigned on a platform of implementing a fare free riding system in 2023, he said.
No council member supported Guth in a proposed vote to appoint him as the voting member of RFTA and Richards as the alternate.
“I really ran on transportation, and I think the community understands my desire to improve transportation and control congestion and work on issues such as how we go forward on the entrance (to Aspen),” Richards said.
Guth said he preferred to serve on a board as a voting member “to be able to have a voice and be effective.”
The council unanimously approved appointing Richards to the RFTA board and Guth as the alternate.
Richards was also appointed to the Aspen Chamber Resort Association board of directors, the Colorado Association of Ski Towns and the Colorado Municipal League.
In addition to RFTA, Guth was appointed to the Denver Rio Grande Western Covenant Enforcement Board, a subcommittee of RFTA.
Rose was appointed to the Pitkin County Board of Health and the Nordic Council board, and the Northwest Council of Governments as the alternate member.
Doyle was reappointed to the Colorado Association of Ski Towns; the Ruedi Water and Power Authority; the Sister Cities board and the Colorado Municipal League. He was also appointed as the voting member of APCHA (he was previously the alternate).
Benedetti was appointed as the voting member of the Northwest Council of Governments and the city’s alternate on APCHA.
Torre and Hauenstein adjourned their final meeting on the city council Tuesday night. Torre was term-limited in his mayoral seat and lost his race for a council seat during the April 1 runoff election. Hauenstein was also term-limited in his council seat.
Hauenstein served eight years on the city council. He was first elected in 2017 and reelected in 2021.
He said he was proud of his efforts serving on council during the COVID-19 pandemic, and would miss working with the city staff to implement policies crafted at the council table.
“I hope that new councils will practice respectful comportment towards the public at all times, appreciation for the city staff and honor for the system that these past council members personified,” Hauenstein said.
He also asked future councils to “be cognizant of and protect the value and the fabric of our community.”
“I want to consider that energy is contagious,” Hauenstein said. “The energy we bring to the table affects other council members, the city staff and the community. It takes no more energy to be nice than it does to be nasty. Choose to be nice, be respectful, supportive and affirming.”
Torre served six years as mayor, and during his time in Aspen ran 12 campaigns for city council. He previously served as councilman in 2003 and 2009.
He left his seat as the head of the council urging the incoming members to pass a policy reducing plastics in city businesses, see the Lumberyard affordable housing project to completion, focus on capital maintenance and homeowners association funding for longevity of the city’s housing stock, and more.
He also urged the new council to consider a “modified split shot” for the entrance to Aspen, a roadway realignment he championed that would realign Highway 82 over a different portion of the Marolt Open Space than the preferred alternative alignment.
Former Aspen Mayor Torre makes a proclamation for Bobby Mason Day in remembrance of the Aspen legend who died in December. It was Torre’s last council meeting before the newly elected council members and mayor were sworn in Tuesday.
Jason Charme/Aspen Daily News
“To the next council, keep your focus on community health, connectedness, affordability and compassion,” Torre said. “I want to thank you all for the honor and privilege to serve my community. I will continue to give as much as I can for as long as I can. As I like to say, I’ll see you on campus.”
Note: Benedetti is married to Aspen Daily News publisher David Cook.